


The Weird Events Surrounding Karkat Vantas

by tinplan



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Classpects (Homestuck), M/M, Swearing, Trolls (Homestuck), Trolls on Earth (Homestuck)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24713593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinplan/pseuds/tinplan
Summary: Dave Strider didn't want any part in the supernatural.He was just a bus driver for god's sake.Then Karkat Vantas came into his life.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 11
Kudos: 36





	1. The bus driver

Dave should have known that something was very, very wrong.

The first sign was the absence of his favourite person.

Karkat Vantas did not follow his two friends on the bus that night. Not like he had done every Tuesday and Friday before that.

The small troll, for which Dave was shamefully pining, was always on time. He knew this because the guy himself had told him that, during a particularly boring night.

«I’m not the sort of douchebag» He had said, with an adorable frown distorting his features. «That tells someone a time and a place to meet, and then shows up ten minutes late».

So when Sollux arrived in front of his empty bus, with streaks of yellow tears on his cheeks, the first question Dave should have asked was “Where’s Karkat?”.

But he didn’t.

No, he let himself be brought into the mess that followed like a fucking idiot.

And all because of a stupid crush.

Karkat Vantas entered his life in December.

It was snowing, and Dave had been working on that particular route for around a week. He was about to close the doors of the bus when a loud voice yelled out.

Not even two minutes later, three horned figures jumped into the machine. The shortest of the group, with messy black hair and nubby horns, had glared at him.

«What the fuck is your problem? You where in that station for two seconds!» His voice was obnoxiously loud, but they were the only ones in the bus, so only Dave suffered from it.

«Dude, I’m just doing my job»

«Is your job being an asshole?» Dave grinned.

«No, that’s just a bonus that comes with my amazing personality» The guy groaned, continuing to glare at Dave, who just kept smiling.

«Kk, just drop it» One of his friends said, a guy with 3D glasses and a lisp. He had two set of pointy horns and an awful haircut. Dave raised an eyebrow.

«Kk?» He asked, focusing on the road while the guys found a place to sit.

«None of your fucking business» And after that, the ride was silent.

He expected not to see the guy again.

What he did not expect was to see the trolls enter the bus on Friday night as well.

When he saw him, “Kk” had sighed and dropped dramatically onto a chair, not speaking to him for the entire ride.

Who he did speak to was the lisp guy, who he discovered was called Sollux Captor. He said he was a tech nerd and a fervent lover of doritos, they immediately bonded on their shared interest in food after that.

Nubby horns was the first one of the three to leave, so he got the chance to ask Sollux about him.

«Oh Kk?» The guy replied, almost surprised by the question. «His name is Karkat, don’t worry about the berating, it’s just his natural mood»

«It must be lovely to hang out with then» Sollux snorten, and smiled.

«He’s not that bad once you actually become his friend, you should try talking to him»

So, the next Tuesday Dave did just that.

That was were thing started going downhill.

The first few time they spoke, he was surprised to think that Karkat Vantas wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

In the first months, he started considering him his friend.

The more time passed, the more such friendly feeling started to breach not-so-friendly territory.

It took him far too long to admit he had a crush on him.

He didn’t tell Sollux, mostly because he wasn’t an idiot, and hadn't spoken to Gamzee enough to trust him with things like that. So all he could do was enjoy his limited time with his crush and then write several pages of pesterlog messages to his sister talking about him.

It was a very precariously kept balance, that Dave did not want to break.

And so Karkat did it for him.

The night had already started weirdly. He waited for the trolls to get on the bus, as usual, and found them in a... worrying state. Sollux had clearly been crying, still intent in drying his eyes, while Gamzee and Karkat wore matching scowls on their face.

«Woah, you ok? Seems like someone’s grandma died»

Karkat gave him a warning look.

«Wait, did someone’s grandma actually die?»

«It’s fine» Interrupted Sollux, who had moved to take a seat far away from his friends. «It’s nothing».

For a long time, there was silence. In the end, it was Karkat who broke it.

«She should have told us!» His voice was hurt, eyes fixated on the windshield.

«Karkat» Warned Sollux, voice still sometimes broken by sobs.

«It’s true!» He argued «How are we supposed to trust her or Terezi now?»

«Because you motherfuckin trusted the spider bitch before?» It was the first time Dave had heard Gamzee talk. His voice was deep, it made Dave shiver in fear.

«Of course not!» Karkat bristled «But Terezi-»

«Terezi did nothing wrong» Sollux stopped his friend mid-sentence. «And we really shouldn't talk about this here».

He knew they were watching him, he could almost feel their eyes on his back.

Karkat mumble something, but did not argue.

Once they arrived at Karkat’s stop, the small troll hesitated before leaving.

«You know what» He muttered under his breath «If she can do things like that, I can break the rules». And with that, he marched right up to Dave and handed him a piece of paper.  
On it, scrawled in big, angry letters, there was a pesterchum handle.

«I’ve wanted to give it to you for a long time» Commented Karkat, lightly, while Dave was busy gaping at it.

«Message me» And, after saying that, he left.

Apparently, his friends were even more surprised than Dave.

«Jesus fucking Christ Kk» Muttered Sollux under his breath.

Dave slipped the paper in his pocket, and started driving.

It was only the day after that he found the courage to actually text the guy.

\--turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 15:17--  
TG: hey man  
TG: its Dave  
  
He looked at the red text, hands almost shaking, and waited for a response.  
He didn’t have to wait long.

CG: OH, HEY.  
CG: I THOUGHT YOU LOST MY HANDLE OR SOMETHING.  
TG: nah, I just take good care when I write messages  
TG: dont want to look uncool, you know  
CG: STRIDER YOU ARE THE TEXTBOOK DEFINITION OF UNCOOL, YOU KNOW THAT?  
TG: dude  
TG: you cant just say that to a guy  
TG: you broke my heart   
TG: im bleeding now karkat  
TG: im bleeding and its all your fault  
CG: HOW CAN YOU BE EVEN MORE DRAMATIC LIKE THIS.  
CG: WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR OFF BUTTON.  
TG: I mean you can guess  
TG: but I think if I told you you would block me and never speak to me again  
CG: YOU WOULD BE RIGHT.  
TG: hey there was something I wanted to ask you  
CG: ?  
TG: were you not…supposed to give me your handle?  
CG: WHAT DO YOU MEAN?  
TG: last night, you spoke about “breaking the rules” or some shit like that  
CG: OH, IT’S REALLY NOTHING.  
TG: yeah, I’m not sure I believe that  
TG: but go off, I guess  
TG: the more I think about it  
TG: the more I realise how weird it was  
CG: PLEASE.  
CG: PLEASE DON’T ASK.  
CG: I CAN’T TELL YOU THE TRUTH, AND I DON’T WANT TO LIE TO YOU.  
TG: that’s very honorable of you, Kitkat  
CG: DON’T MAKE ME REGRET GIVING YOU MY HANDLE.  
TG: oh, so you don’t already regret it?  
CG: …  
CG: FUCK   


They spoke for a long time, both of nothing and everything at the same time, and Dave felt incredibly happy.

They kept it up for a while. Meeting on Tuesday and Fridays, and talking the rest of the week.

Then came the day Sollux and Gamzee arrived at the bus stop without Karkat.

The day that changed everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so the first chapter is done. This was a little short, future updates will probably be longer. I'll update whenever I have time, hopefully soon.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> (also, english is not my first language so I apologise for eventual grammatical errors)


	2. Knight of Time

For the whole time he had known him, Dave Strider had never seen Gamzee shed a single tear. But that night he stood in front of him, purple tears running down his cheeks, juggalo makeup smeared on his face and messy hair in the worst condition Dave had ever seen them.

He didn’t move, while Sollux clinged to Dave like it was the end of the world. The troll had taken his glasses off and, while speaking, kept Dave’s arm in his death grip.

«We need to do something» He was saying to Gamzee, his lisp and sobs barely made him able to speak. «We can’t let her get away with this, she can’t do this!». His voice went from yelling to whispering.

«What are we motherfukin’ supposed to do, then?» Gamzee sounded so defeated that it worried Dave. His whole body was deflated, arms hanging loosely and unmoving.

«There’s still time!» Sollux argued, still not freeing Dave’s arm. «Terezi can perform the ritual again» There was desperation in his voice, wild hope.

«And where do you think you’ll find a motherfucking time player? There are no miracles now» At that point, Dave was reeling. He didn’t understand a word of what Gamzee said.

Time player…? 

«Uh, can someone...» He started, clearly lost. He just wished he had his shades, to keep his indifferent facade up. 

«Dave» Sollux now turned to him, blue and red eyes seemingly wild «Would you do something for me, if Karkat was in terrible danger?»

Those words made Dave freeze, fear like small pins that stinged his skin. His lungs seemingly lost all their air capacity. The thought of Karkat being hurt was terrifying.

«Of course» His voice wavered «Is… Is he ok?»

Sollux didn’t meet his gaze then, and Dave tried desperately to get an answer out of him.

«No» Gamzee voice boomed in the silence of the bus station. «And we need to act fast, or he won't be anything at all»

Dave was not understanding shit. He was confused, scared and, especially, angry. 

But he did want to help Karkat.

So he didn’t say anything.

«Listen, you need to look me in the eyes for this» Sollux moved his hands to the sides of his head, and looked at him through tear-filled eyes. There was a long patch of silence, for witch Dave did not know what to do or say, he just kept staring at his friend, confused. 

Then he felt it.

It was like someone was reaching into him, right in his soul. As the sensation worsened, a noise started booming in Dave’s ear, drowning everything else.

_Clocks ticking._

The moment he heard the sound, Sollux’s hands left his face, and everything returned to normal.

«So?» Gamzee touched his friend, who was muttering something very similar to “thank god”. It took him a few tries shaking him before Sollux regained an idea of his surroundings.

«Knight of Time» Dave saw in a moment the relief that flooded Gamzee, how a smile creeped on his face.

«Motherfucking miracles, man» Was all he said, before Sollux took Dave’s arm and guided him outside of the bus stop.

«I have a job. You know that, right?» He really didn’t want to be fired over weird customers babbling about nonsensical things. He would have followed them anywhere anyway, mainly because Karkat was involved. Sollux didn't answer tho, and just kept walking.

They walked for a long time, so long that Dave started getting worried. 

If he didn’t trust Sollux, he would have thought he was taking him to a quiet place to kill him. But he did, so he followed him.

When they finally stopped, Dave’s blood started running cold.

Sollux opened the gate to the small cemetery. It was rusted, and made an horrible noise when moved, it made Dave flinch. 

«What are we doing here?» He was worried, but still followed the trolls inside.

It was then that he heard the other voices.

«And how is this going to fix anything?!» Yelled someone Dave could still not see.

«Well, he’ll be here, and he’ll be fine» Another voice response.

«Fine? He will be anything but fine! Have you seen what that did to Aradia?» While the two voices argued, the trio moved closer.

There was a small group of trolls in the middle of the cemetery.

The troll who was yelling, a tall woman with a bent horn, turned around as soon as they were visible.

In front of her, a troll girl far shorter was leaning heavily on a stick. She had red glasses and pointy horns. Despite her clear distress, she grinned when she turned in their direction. 

There were four other people in the patch of ground. A small troll with a blue cat hat was leaning against a guy with broken glasses and a broken horn, while two trolls with “fish ears” (or at least, Dave thought that was their name) leaned against a grave.

«Finally» The girl with the glasses said. Then, she smelled the air in their general direction. «And who’s the guy with you?». 

«This» Sollux pointed at him «Is our time player. Everyone, meet Dave Strider»

There were mixed reposes to that news. The color from the tall troll’s face completely drained, and she almost fell to the ground. Red Glasses grinned so much it must have been hurting her. The fish guy only raised an eyebrow, while the fish girl clapped. The one with the blue hat raised her fists to the sky, a yell of joy filling the air.

«Does he know what he’s getting into?» The tall troll looked at him, rage contorting her beautiful features.

«Kanaya, this is the best shot we have» Sollux had put himself between her and Dave. Dave didn't complain in the slightest, she looked like she was ready to kill someone.

«Yes, if you want to have a friend without his will to leave!» She argued.

«He’ll be here at least» Red Glasses said, not looking away from Dave for a second, it made him nervous.«And we don’t know, maybe he’ll be back to normal. We have both a space and a life player this time» 

«Terezi is right» Said the fish girl, voice cheery. «I’m sure everything will go well»

Kanaya simply raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

«Uh» He started, finding the perfect moment to get some fucking answers «Can someone tell me what’s going on?»

Kanaya’s eyes went wide, and Red Glasses - Terezi, apparently- Whipped her head to Sollux and Gamzee.

«You didn’t tell him?!» If Kanaya was furious before, he didn’t know how he could describe the rage she displayed in that moment.

«Sollux what the fuck?» Terezi seemed mad too, holding tightly her cane. «You had one job»

«You never said that i had to explain it to him!»

«We thought you’d figure it out!» Kanaya rubbed her hands together, almost trembling and with Jade-colored tears that threatened to flow from her eyes. Terezi took a deep breath and looked at him.

«Dave» She said, and he stared at her, into the pool of red that were his eyes behind her glasses. After a long pause, she spoke again

«Karkat is dead»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens.


	3. Sylph of Space

In that moment, it seemed like time froze. Dave looked around, in the vain hope to miraculously find Karkat there, calling him names like usual. 

The realization that he would never see him again slowly creeped up on him. His chest hurt and it was hard to breathe.

He would not cry tho, Sriders don’t cry.

Then, a shiver of hope, like a single ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, Kanaya spoke up.

«We don’t know that, he could be still alive» Terezi didn’t even turn to look at her, eyes firmly set on Dave.

«Ah yes, because Vriska sure brought him to take a nice walk» Sollux crossed his arms in front of his chest, he had put his glasses back up, maybe to get a semblance of calm to his distraught face.

«Maybe Aradia went to help, there is a thousand ways he could still be alive, and we aren’t even looking for him!» Kanaya’s hands moved in the hair, while her eyes scanned the crowd in a desperate search for approval. 

«We know what Vriska is capable of» Finally, Terezi turned towards her. «We need to be prepared for his death» 

«Ok, this is fucking bullshit» All eyes turned to him, some surprised, some unimpressed, not like he cared. «Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on? And I don’t accept vague-as-fuck answers»

Terezi sighed, passing a hand through her already messy black hair.

«We’re a cult» Sollux said, before anyone else could talk.

«What?» It made sense, if he stopped and thought about it, but he was not in the state of mind to do that.

«It’s not a cult» Argued Terezi, putting a hand on her hip. She and Sollux stared at each other for a long time, until she cracked. 

«We are something similar. We believe in the end of the universe»

«What do you mean with that?»

«We pray to the horrorterrors, ancient deities that whisper to us the secrets of the world»

Dave raised his eyebrows, surprise probably evident on his face.

«According to them, the universe will one day end with meteors hitting this Earth» His first thought was that it was all bullshit, the second was that it was fucked up.

«But even if you pray to them, you shouldn’t listen to everything they say» That was contradictory, but he thought better than to correct her.

«Apparently Vriska didn’t get that memo» Sollux’s glare was directed to the woods near the cemetery, Dave didn’t even notice them until that moment.

«She thinks that with sacrifices, this end can be postponed» Explained Kanaya, one of her hands brushing her arm for comfort. 

«She wouldn’t actually murder someone tho, would she?» He knew that trolls were of violent nature, but at the same time, they knew very well the rules of Earth and how it functioned.

Most of them, at least.

No one met his gaze after the question, and his heart squeezed painfully with dread. 

«She… She hasn't done this before, has she?» This time, Terezi answered him, still not looking at him tho.

«It’s… She has» Her voice was broken, and, despite her face being away from him, he didn’t miss the single tear that slipped from her eyes.

«So what the fuck are you going to do about it?» The rage he had tried to contain until that moment bursted out of him, unable to be controlled anymore. «If you want to sit here and let him fucking die because of that bitch, that’s your business, I’m going to look for him». And after saying that, he turned on his heels and started leaving the cemetery.

Beside the yells of surprise and offense, one voice stood out.

«Wait for me» Kanaya called, running towards him until she reached the spot where he’d stopped.

«Dave» Sollux’s voice reverberated in between the graves. «You’re gonna regret this» 

«I regret almost everything I do» And with that, he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is shorter than the others, but i plan for the fourth to be pretty long to compensate.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so the first chapter is done. This was a little short, future updates will probably be longer. I'll update whenever I have time, hopefully soon.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> (also, english is not my first language so I apologise for eventual grammatical errors)


End file.
